Ibrahim Jaafari's government has been
criticised for poor performance
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US Envoy Calls For New Iraqi PM
BBC/ Mar 28, 2006
The US ambassador to Iraq has told Shia leaders that
the US government does not want Ibrahim Jaafari to remain prime minister, senior
Shia politicians say.
Zalmay Khalilzad said President George W Bush "doesn't
want, doesn't support, doesn't accept" the retention of Mr Jaafari, Rida Jawad
al-Takki said.
Mr Jaafari's spokesman accused the US of trying to
subvert Iraqi sovereignty.
The Shia United Iraqi Alliance chose Mr Jaafari as its
candidate in February after winning December's election.
But Kurdish and Sunni Arab parties have rejected the
UIA's nomination and have threatened to boycott a national unity government
unless it is withdrawn.
The delay in forming a government is also thought to be
partly responsible for fuelling the increasing sectarian violence which has
struck Iraq since last month's bombing of the al-Askari shrine at Samarra, one
of Shia Islam's holiest.
'Unacceptable'
Mr Takki said the US ambassador had passed on his
government's dissatisfaction with Mr Jaafari at a meeting with the leader of the
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, on
Saturday.
"George Bush sent a message via Khalilzad to Abd al-Aziz
al-Hakim, as head of the Alliance, telling him that George Bush doesn't want,
doesn't support, doesn't accept Ibrahim Jaafari as prime minister," he said.
The US embassy in Baghdad confirmed Mr Khalilzad had met
Mr Hakim on Saturday, but denied he had made such a demand.
"Iraq's democratically-elected Council of
Representatives has the mandate of affirming a prime ministerial nomination," an
embassy spokeswoman said.
"We will not intervene with this process."
But a spokesman for Mr Jaafari said the prime minister
had heard of the message.
"How can they do this?" Haidar al-Ubaidi asked.
"An ambassador telling a sovereign country what to do is
unacceptable," he added.
"The perception is very strong among certain Shia
parties that the US, led by Mr Khalilzad, is trying to unseat Mr Jaafari."
An ambassador telling a sovereign country what to do is unacceptable
